I'm glad I found this site I need advice

I've always though my son was adhd or add but never took him to the doctor for it he turned 3 in May and we just relocated to a different state and this new dr seen him once I didn't even mention his behavior he seen and asked quetions then prescribed him ritlin .25mg and clonidine .1mg. Since he was 1 I've notice his behavior he would climb out of his baby bed and pulled plugs out of walls like the whole socet. As he got older his behavior got worse, he don't sleep well at night and is up around 4am every morning he climbs in my cabinets spills things everywhere he's snuck out the house a few time not since we moved here though I've learned tricks to lock up better, he's very crafty on sneaking around and getting around what I try to make a safe environment for him. I have 5 children and he's the only one whos had behavioral problems sometimes I feel like I'm a horrible mom and just don't know what to do anymore. He trys to run out in traffic he thinks its funny so now everywhere we go he has to wear a toddler harness, he was almost hit by a truck and he thinks its the funniest thing ever to try to run out in traffic. He does flips down my basement stairs he thinks it funny when he hurts himself also. He's not mean to his siblings and he don't really have any anger problem he's just destructive and likes breaking things. In some ways I think he's to young for medications but I'm worried he'll hurt himself. But is 2 appts with this dr really enough for him to dignose him with adhd? And are these medications safe for a 3 y/o?

First and foremost, welcome. It's always a sobering feeling when you get desperate for help. I think we have all been there. ( I float in and out of it almost daily.) There are tons of people here who will give great advice and they are very supportive.

My son was diagnosed ADHD at 2 and started taking medications. ( I will never forget my mother telling me that I was just a bad mom because I couldn't control my son. She just didnt understand) He also knew no boundaries, didn't sleep well, took extreme risks, and couldnt get along with just about anyone close to his age.
If you are worried about it but need some relief, ask the doctor to start off on the lowest possible medication and work up from there. When my son started taking medications, I swear the stars aligned and I could breathe. He is 10 now and still takes medications and the kid is a genius!

Side note- I'm not a doctor, just been to tons. Our therapist, doctor, and psychiatrist all made mention that when a child needs ADD or ADHD medications before the age of 4 that is a usually a flag to tell of another condition. In my difficult child's case it was Aspergers. Please know I don't know if your son has Asperger's, there are just quite a few of the symptoms that I could totally relate to.

I would go to somebody besides a pediatrician before I put my son on anything. He's young to get correctly diagnosed, but I agree it could be more than ADHD, which is often a young child's diagnosis that changes with time.

My son is also on the spectrum and he was hyperactive off the wall. They tried him on stims, but that just made h im mean and aggressive, which he wasn't. In retrospect, I don't believe children should be on medication that young. I'm sorry I played the medication game with my son at such an early age. He is 19 now and medication free. His early hyperactivity has waned. He's left with the high functioning autism and that doesn't require medications in 50% of the cases.

If you want to maybe consider medication, in my opinion you should take him to see a neuropsychologist first. I think they are the best diagnosticians. Pediatricians are terrible diagnosticians. It's not t heir field. And counselors and therapists are not trained to accurately diagnose. And they often just chalk everything up to ADHD/ODD, which is often the wrong diagnosis.

Welcome to the board, but sorry you have to be here. Still...nice having you

My son was diagnosis'd with ADHD at the age of 3 and was put on medication but we went with a non-stimulant. I didn't like the idea of my 3 year old being on "speed" even though that's what it was for. I just had a problem with that. My humble opinion is that if he is being that destructive to himself and property, you need to try and do something. ADHD medications, in most cases, simply slow the brain down enough so they can think things through instead of being so impulsive. It helps difficult child 1 a LOT.

What kind of doctor are you taking him to? I agree that you should get in to a neuropsychologist if/when you can. They are much more thorough and will look at all the information they can get about the kid and do a variety of tests to narrow down the REAL cause of behaviors. In our case, he was right on.

Welcome to our little corner of the world. Glad you found us but am sorry you were in a place where you needed to.

Our therapist, doctor, and psychiatrist all made mention that when a child needs ADD or ADHD medications before the age of 4 that is a usually a flag to tell of another condition

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I'll second that.
Both of mine went onto medications when they started school, and it was the right decision - and their ADHD dxes have stuck. We had an excellent team, and they also felt that things like ADHD really don't show up until the load of school kicks in... so, the symptoms may look like ADHD, but there are other dxes that need to be investigated.

I would get a second opinion from a psychiatrist who is board certified in pediatrics. My middle daughter was prescribed medications at 2, but when we saw the child psychiatrist for a second opinion he started with addressing one symptom...sleep. When we both started sleeping life became more manageable.

CD - right on <where's that LIKE button!>
Sleep problems. (don't get me started!) If I were to vote for the most often missed diagnosis, it would be "sleep problems".
Sleep problems can make all sorts of other problems appear, that have no other basis than in lack of sufficient quantity and quality of sleep. If in fact other dxes are actually involved, sleep problems always make them significantly worse.

Gotta agree with the rest of the crowd...I'd have a neuropsychologist take a look - once you get things going, you could go to the Board of Ed and see if you can get assistance with any type of services he may need (Special Education Itinerant Teacher, speech, Occupational Therapist (OT), PT, etc. It's well worth looking into! Beth